Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is one of the most anticipated sequels of the summer movie season. For the curious, it is because they want to know whether director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas can recapture the "lightning in a bottle" that made the original trilogy so popular. For fans of Harrison Ford, it is because they hope that a return to his most popular character will jump-start his sagging career. For me, it is a chance to relive the thrill of going to a movie with my family that they are all eager and excited about going to see at the multiplex.
My dad, who is an infamously impatient man when it comes to sitting still and watching a movie, is a huge fan of Raiders of the Lost Ark. So much so, that he took us to see it countless times. In fact, we saw it in Miami at the Lincoln Theater (now home of the New World Symphony), on a double bill with Robert Altman's Popeye, back when theater ushers carrying flashlights would personally seat you, and even allow you to stay for a repeat performance of the film at no extra charge. So we of course saw Raiders, then Popeye, then Raiders again. My dad called me last week to make sure we leave some room to catch the new flick when I visit them in Miami this summer.
This weekend my new family, wife and son (with another on the way), had ourselves an Indy viewing party, and I've got a short buying guide to help you navigate through the various Indiana Jones DVDs currently available.
Indiana Jones: The Adventure Collection - Just released this week, this box set contains special editions of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Each has all-new documentaries directed by famed DVD documentarian Laurent Bouzereau, and all-new introductions by Spielberg and Lucas. The best of these documentaries is "The Indy Trilogy: A Crystal Clear Appreciation", found on the Raiders disc, in which the cast of the latest film is interviewed about their favorite moments in the trilogy. Each film is also available separately on DVD for the first time, for those who aren't fans of all the movies.
The Adventures of Indiana Jones - This set, released in 2003, is for the true Indy fan. It contains all three films, and a fourth disc with over three hours of bonus material covering everything from the inception of the character (back when he was Indiana Smith) to audition footage of Tom Selleck as Indy (a role he no doubt laments being forced to give up, as CBS was strictly enforcing his contractual obligations to Magnum, P.I.). It also has in-depth coverage for each sequel. The drawbacks to this set were the unavailability of each film separately at the time of its release, and the fact that it doesn't have any of Bouzereau's new documentary material.
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